General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Holdings Decreased by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 39,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,441,000 after buying an additional 6,058 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 11,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 2,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE GD opened at $267.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.